Azizollah Samandari released from prison

Azizollah Samandari (عزیزالله سمندری) was released from Raja’i Shahr prison, near Tehran, on April 17. He has completed a five-year term on charges of membership of the Bahai community, creating and distributing a computer programme, and providing technical support for the Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). He was arrested on January 14, 2009, and released on bail two months later. He was sentenced to a five-year prison term by Judge Moqiseh (قاضی مقیسه), in October 2011 after a 10-minute trial, in which the only question he was asked was whether he belonged to the Bahai community. He began his sentence on July 7, 2012.

While he was in Raja’i Shahr prison, he was selected for the New Zealand Parliament’s “Supreme Commitment Award.” The Award flowed from his participation in the 2010 Global Enterprise Experience (GEE), which is supported by Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. GEE founder Deb Gilbertson said, “The Supreme Commitment Award is to recognise the exceptional sacrifice he is making to pursue higher education and global communication.”

Mr Samandari’s father, Behman Samandari (بهمن سمندری), was executed for his Bahai beliefs following the 1979 Revolution. His grandfather, Hasan Mahbubi (حسن محبوبی), was killed when he was deliberately run down by a car, which has never been traced. He too is counted in Iran as a Bahai martyr.